Why do new orchid shoots become stunted? The three excesses are what orchid growers fear most, and violating any one of them will inevitably stunt new shoots

Why do new orchid shoots become stunted? The three excesses are what orchid growers fear most, and violating any one of them will inevitably stunt new shoots

At this time of year, most of the new shoots on wild-collected orchids have already emerged, except for a few cymbidium orchids that may have just broken through the surface. The photos taken today by Haoshe Farmer are all of goeringii orchids and cymbidium orchids collected this year.

The leaves of new goeringii orchid shoots have already grown to 6 leaves. To judge whether a new shoot is healthy, whether it can grow into an orchid plant, and whether it can develop into a strong plant, the main things to look at are whether the color of its leaf sheath is normal, whether its new shoot leaves are thicker and stronger than those of the old shoots, and whether there are any disease spots on the new shoot.

Of course, the premise is that the new shoot can actually grow. Recently, a friend online left a message for Haoshe Farmer saying that their orchid's new shoot had shown no movement for a long time and was not growing. What is causing this? At this time of year, orchid shoots should be growing quite fast, and after a few days without looking, you would clearly feel that they had grown larger. If the orchid shoot is not growing, it is probably stunted.

A stunted orchid does not necessarily die right away, so it is very deceptive, and it is hard to notice unless you observe frequently. Even if a stunted shoot slowly grows larger later, it will mostly be a deformed shoot, with no benefit to the beauty of the orchid plant. Why does stunting happen? Basically, it comes down to these three reasons, which Haoshe Farmer calls the "three excesses."

First, too much water. This is easy to understand. If the growing medium has poor drainage and the humidity during the plum rain season is high, the orchid roots absorb too much water, which will affect nutrient uptake. It is like a person who has drunk too much water and beverages and then finds it hard to eat a meal.

Second, too much fertilizer. Orchid growers all want to rush seedling cultivation in this season. Especially with wild-collected orchids, it is hard to avoid the phenomenon of old pseudobulbs turning yellow, so they add fertilizer to supplement the fertility that the old pseudobulbs lack. Applying a small amount of thin fertilizer is fine, but once the greedy and impatient apply too much fertilizer, it will cause stunting.

Third, too much medicine. The plum rain season is indeed a period of high incidence of various orchid diseases, so it is unavoidable to apply treatments, whether spraying, dusting, or drenching. However, most treatments for orchid diseases have a bactericidal function, and using them in appropriate amounts can kill pathogens. But if used too frequently or in excessive amounts, they can also cause phytotoxicity. Orchid growth needs beneficial microbial communities alongside it; if these communities are also killed, it would be strange if the orchid shoots did not become stunted.

Original content by Haoshe Farmer. Please do not plagiarize.